602 Fuel

[602racerX]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but the search function is not the most handiest on this site.I have two options for fuel, pump gas or e-85. Which fuel would be more benificial?Anybody have any dyno results?Does e-85 smell any differnt than pump gas?Fule pressure recomendations on e-85?Thank you everybody for your time!

[MM90]

E-85 is tricky to run, but once you get a handle on it the performance is there. Now on a 602 I don't know how much more you will gain versus running premium pump gas. I know lot's of guys that if rules allow them to run E-85 they use it. I personally haven't messed with it, thought about running it on my A-Mod but just decided to stick with methanol.

[50j]

E-85 works great with the right parts. You can't cobble something together and expect it to work right. You can't use a gas carb. You can't use a methanol carb. You need a dedicated E-85 carb FOR A 602 and the rest of the right equipment from the fuel cell forward. It does have a different smell to it. You will also want to make sure you're getting good fuel and test to make sure it's 85% or mix your own. If everything is right you'll love it. The stories you hear about it not working come from people trying to cut corners or not paying attention to detail.

[Mike Croley]

If that's the only two choices you have, stick with premium 91, 92, or 93. In your application the performance of 93 pump gas will be exactly the same or even better than E-85, you'll get much better mileage because you'll be using a lot less fuel, and you won't have the corrosion or hygroscopic concerns that you would with E-98.

[50j]

If that's the only two choices you have, stick with premium 91, 92, or 93. In your application the performance of 93 pump gas will be exactly the same or even better than E-85, you'll get much better mileage because you'll be using a lot less fuel, and you won't have the corrosion or hygroscopic concerns that you would with E-98.

E-85 will make more torque than pump gas. E-98 will not on a 602 so...sort of right.

[Mike Croley]

We should probably define some terms here. E gas in all it's many forms IS pump gas. The majority of pump gas across the country ranges from E-10 to E-85 and even some E-98. Though some stations have reverted back to unleaded gas that has no ethanol in it.
The best alcohol to use by far is methanol, but i notice the op didn't list that as one of his choices. The 87 octane gasoline in every E gas determines a lot of that gasoline's potential. And since computerized fuel injected late model engines will automatically adjust to run on just about any quality fuel, the quality of the blend isn't very important. Now the top gas companies like Shell and Chevron pay close attention to the quality of their blends. Some of the others.....not so much.
So to compare torque and power out put between 93 gas and E gas you would need to know you have the best blend, not just an average blend. For consistency, a good quality 93 is the best way to go if you only have the 2 choices.

[50j]

6 carbs tested, 4 gas, 2 E-85, Shell premium pump GAS base line with 10% ethanol and numbers from best carb. We then picked up a little bit with oxygenated fuel and tuning change. I would need to look at the sheet but it wasn't huge and everything was right. We then picked up another 15# with the best E-85 carb on 85% fuel. No other changes like timing, lash, or plugs. This was a fuel and carb test only, same day, same motor. You can learn a lot by testing and changing one variable at a time. The final numbers were nice and it showed on the track.

[stockcar5]

50j is right. e85 makes good power. we've dyno tested it against race fuel and shell 93 octane and the e85 won everytime. i also tried it in a 14 to 1 406 and it made about 10 more hp and 20 lbs/ft over 112 fuel.

fwiw Mike Croley is a saleman for renegade race fuel, so take his opinion on ethanol with a grain of salt.